


coffee and cultural differences

by orphan_account



Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: (not rlly this is gay), Coffee Shops, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Just gals bein pals, handwavy canon so its basically compliant with anything including oracle!babs just go w it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-30 16:35:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6432106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Babs goes on a coffee date and reflects on how smitten she is with Koriand'r. This is shameless fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	coffee and cultural differences

**Author's Note:**

> Written for paraboyfriendbatai on tumblr, who requested some "starbra" (also gave the ship this name, make it happen ppl)
> 
> I take requests and am always free to chat on tumblr @hoevarr!

There are certain cultural barriers between them. Maybe that’s to be expected, Barbara thinks, hiding her smile behind her cappuccino as Kori throws her head back, laughing at something Barbara had said a moment prior, and drawing looks from the other patrons of the cozy cafe. Babs had given up trying to analyze the alien princess. Kori was much too complex, too radiant, to be picked apart like a case file or a computer system. Barbara had learned this the hard way.

They were in a bit of a similar position- besides the obvious, with the both of them being red-headed female vigilante superheroes- they had both been involved with Dick Grayson. Barbara and Dick had a mutual breakup- their relationship had always blurred the line between romance and friendship anyway, much like Tim and Stephanie, thought Babs- and her and Dick were still good friends. Barbara had known Dick long before Kori, and when Dick and Kori had dated, well… That had always led to some tension between the girls, but looking back, Barbara realized that maybe the tension had been one-sided.

Kori flipped her fiery hair and grinned blindingly at Barbara, still laughing. There was certainly no tension now, though there had been some bumps along the way to this point, a point Babs had never seen coming. Se had been blindsided in a good way, like when she opened her eyes in the morning to find Star’s fiery hair encroaching on her field of vision, searing its owner into her eyes as Kori would approach the bed, balancing two cups of coffee, white smile almost as bright as her hair- yeah, that was a good sight to wake up to in the morning.

Kori’s smile was one of Barbara’s favorite sights in the world. It was infectious. She smiled so much, too- a ray of sunshine, brilliantly blinding brightness, lighting up Barbara’s life. Kori helped Barbara break out of her computer chair and world of planning, planning, planning… graphs, charts, statistics, emotional distance. Kori showed her how to have fun again.

Barbara had to walk through a lot of things with the alien, because many things were still foreign to her. Barbara might have expected this to be a pain, but she would have been egregiously wrong. She got to experience things with Kori, who added a magical exuberance to everything she encountered. Babs took great joy in sharing the minute details of her daily life with the alien, which seemed so mundane when she reflected on it. It had been mundane, really, before Kori.

Kori’s smile made the cafe seem brighter, happier. Babs lowered her cup, and Kori leaned forward, elbows on the table. “You have the foam of the milk on the upper lip,” she whispers conspiratorially, and Babs can feel herself turning tomato red. Kori leans forward even further, reaching out one slender hand to run her forefinger along Babs’ lip. The corner of Kori’s mouth quirks up.

That’s another barrier, one Barbara is learning to live with- maybe even like, a little more than she’ll admit. Kori thrives on touch. Her people are extremely tactile, it’s in her nature, and she always has a slender hand placed on Barbara’s shoulder, resting lightly on her thigh, lazily interlocking their fingers. Kori painted her fingernails in bright colors, always warm hues. Barbara didn’t she bit her nails down to the quick if she didn’t keep them trimmed, but Kori insisted she needed to spice up her appearance with color. She acquiesced, eventually. She was helpless when it came to Kori’s whims.

Barbara glanced down at her feet under the table as Kori babbled animatedly about dogs. She was wearing tennis shoes, but obscured beneath layers of material her toes were decorated with lurid violet polish. The night prior, Kori had settled under Barbara, who perched on the couch, and stripped off the previous coat she had chosen of lime green, replacing it while she told stories.

Babs had vowed to introduce Kori to seasonal coffee as thanks. “You do not have to thank me for bringing you joy, for bringing you joy brings me the joy,” Star had replied earnestly, recapping the polish.

All the same, here they were in a coffeehouse today. One frivolous, and, she’d admit, stereotypical things she adored were seasonal drinks. Pumpkin spice, peppermint, Valentine’s day themed with little heart-shaped sprinkles, she ate- or, to be technical, drank- the fad right up. It was just the kind of trivial fun that made Star happy, and making Star happy also made Babs happy, so on top of the drinks it was basically happiness squared.

Kori, after wiping foam off Babs’ mouth, smirked and grabbed the straw to her iced pumpkin thing. Babs hadn’t really paid attention to the order after Kori had become exuberant about additions to a very wide-eyed barista. He happily made the ridiculous beverage, though; one couldn’t be mad at Star, she had that charm about her. That charm that resulted in Babs acting like a complete doofus on a date. Awesome.

Kori gripped the straw between her index and middle finger, palm up, like she was smoking. Barbara noticed these things, every little quirk- and not just because Kori was an alien. It was something she did with everyone, and honestly, sometimes, she wished she didn’t.

Other times, though, she was appreciative, like now. Kori’s eyes widened slightly, lips closed around the straw. She pulled off, running a hand through the curtain of luminous hair that had fallen over her face, obscuring it partially.

“This is a delicious beverage, Barbara.” She reached out, grasping Babs’ hand that had been resting on the table, intertwining their fingers. Her brows raised, a portrait of sincerity. “And I am pleased to get to experience it with my love.” This time, Babs didn’t hide her smile behind a cup, and let herself lean forward into Kori’s kiss.


End file.
